Black Plum and Mint Daiquiri

You guys, the mint in my garden is going bananas. People have said in the past that mint will take over any space you give it, but this is the first time I’ve had that happen. My mint plants have always done well, but this sucker is spreading to all corners of our back bed. This plum and mint daiquiri is me trying to use up some of that good summer mint.

I feel like daiquiris get short shrift in the world of drinks. They’re what a 16-year-old with a fake ID orders at the bar in a 90s TV show, right? And they come with an umbrella in? But a daiquiri doesn’t have to be a boozy slushy, in my estimation. A mint daiquiri on the rocks can taste very grown up.

This plum and mint daiquiri – like most of my cocktails – contains no added sugars. It doesn’t have that cloying sweetness you’d associate with a frozen poolside daiquiri. Instead, it’s just got a bit of sweetness from the plums. It’s downright refreshing.

To make this drink, you just need to muddle the ingredients right in your glass, then top off with ice and then with soda water. It’s sort of a daiquiri-meets-mojito. The Cointreau is what makes this a daiquiri and not a mojito.

Black Plum and Mint Daiquiri

Yield: 2 plum and mint daiquiris

Ingredients

1 black plum, chopped into 1″ pieces

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish

juice of 1 a fresh lime

3 ounces of white rum

1 ounce Cointreau or Triple Sec

ice

soda water

a few dashes of orange bitters per glass

Method

Divide the main ingredients between two rocks glasses. Each glass should have: 1/2 of the plum, 1 tablespoon mint leaves, 1/2 the lime juice, 1 1/2 ounces rum, and 1/2 ounce Cointreau.

Muddle the ingredients well, right in the bottom of the glasses. Top the glass off with ice, then soda water. Add a few dashes of bitters, then garnish with a little bit more mint.